Rail clip forming machine



May 13, 1952 E. A. sKowRoN 2,596,734

RAIL CLIP FORMING MACHINE Filed July 16, 1947 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 May 13, 1952 E. A. SKOWRON RAIL CLIP FORMING MACHINE 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed July 16, 1947 May 13, 1952 E. A. SKOWRON RAIL CLIP FORMING MACHINE 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed July 16, 1947 WQM Patented May 13, 1952 RAIL our FORMING MACHINE Edmund A. Skowron, Pittsburgh, Pa., assignor to Woodings-Verona Tool Works, Verona; Pa., acorporation of Pennsylvania Application July 16, 1947, Serial No. 761,313

2 Claims.

This invention relates to apparatus for forging from metal plates rail clips, each of which has a curved body with ends adapted to engage a rail base flange and a tie plate, and one end of the clip being bent "downwardly and inwardly and terminating in a central downturned tongue adapted to project into a spike hole in the tie plate.

It is among the objects of this invention to provide forging apparatus by which rail clips of this type can be formed in rapid succession and in a single operation per clip.

The preferred embodiment of the invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings in which Fig. 1 is a plan view of my forging apparatus; Fig. 2 is a bottom view of a rail clip forged by this apparatus; Fig. 3 is a vertical section through a rail .and die showing such a clip in rail-retaining position; Figs. 4, 5, and 6 are enlarged fragmentary plan views of the elements that shape the clip, shown in successive positions; Fig. 7 is a view similar to those of the preceding group, but more complete and showing the clip completely formed; Fig. 8 is an enlarged front end view of the machine carriage taken on the line VIII--VIII of Fig. 1; Fig. 9 is a vertical section taken on the line IX--IX of Fig. 8; Fig. 10 is a View of the inner face of the concave die; and Fig. 11 is a horizontal section through the toggle mechanism shown in Fig. 8.

In accordance with this invention shears are provided for forming a central tongue on one end of a metal plate, preferably cut from a bar being fed into the machine intermittently. Relatively movable concave and convex dies bend the plate between them to provide it with a longitudinally arched body having its tongue-carrying end projecting from between the dies. In the preferred form the concave die is stationary, while the conjecting portion of the plate back around the die 5 projection and also bends the tongue substantially perpendicularly away from the adjoiningportion The two dies are provided with of the plate. aligned passages in which a punch travels for punching a hole in the center of the plate so that a fastening member may extend through the clip for holding it in position on a rail.

Referring to Figs. 2 and 3 of the drawings, it

will be see that the spring clip formed by the apparatus disclosedherein has a longitudinally arched body I provided at its outer end with. ;a

downwardly and inwardly bent portion that terminates in a central tongue 2 between a pair of cars 3. The tongue is bent down and projects into the usual spike hole 4 in the tie plate 5.

The ears beside the tongue press down on the tie plate. Directly above the tie plate hole the curved body of the clip is provided with a central opening 'I through which a suitable fastening member extends. This member may take the form of a bolt 8 having a laterally projecting integral lug 9 at its lower end projecting beneath the tie plate. The bolt is reduced in cross section by cutting away one side so that it can extend through the tie plate hole beside the tongue of the clip. A nut I0 is screwed on the upper end of the bolt to hold the clip in position. The pressure of the inner end of the clip on the rail I I can be controlled by the distance that the nut is screwed down on the bolt.

As shown in Fig.- 1, the apparatus for forming this clip includes a. generally rectangular frame or base I3 the front end of which supports a concave die I 4. Cooperating with this die is a convex die I5 carried by a frame-like carriage or support it reciprocablelengthwise in frame I3 between guide plate I! secured to opposite sides of the frame. This carriage is moved forward toward the concave die by means of cams 20 rigidly mounted on a shaft 2! journaled in the rear of the frame and driven through a gear 22 and pinion 23 by a motor 24. The cams engage rollers 26 journaled-on stub shafts 21 projecting inwardly from the sides of-the carriage. To move the carriage away from the concave die, the rear portion of the carriage is provided with inwardly projecting stub shafts 28 on which are journaled rollers 29 which are engaged by a set of cams 3i) rigidly mounted on drive shaft 2|. The carriage therefore is'positively reciprocated by the cams in both directions. One side of frame I3 is provided with a slot 32 extending horizontally through it and through which a metal stock bar 33 is fed forward between the dies intermittently by any suitable means (not shown). The'width and thickness of this bar, which is disposed'on edge, corresponds to the width and thickness of the rail clips that are formed from the plates cut from the bar.

3 stock bar is located between this stationary shear element and a shear blade 36 mounted in a block 31 secured to the front end of carriage l6. As shown in Fig. 8, the shape of this blade is complementary to the shape of projection 35 so that they will cut the tongue and ears on the inner end of the bar disposed between them (Fig. 4).

The opposite edge of the concave die serves as a shearing edge against which the bar is pressed immediately after its inner end has been cut by the shaping shear. This is accomplished by means of a shear blade 38 secured to the front end of the carriage. The front end of this blade is recessed so as to straddle the bar to keep the bar from moving up or down while the plate between the dies is being cut from it. This plate is retained between the dies by their pressure against its opposite sides, which causes its tongue end to be bent rearwardly as shown in Fig. 5. The curvature of the plate-engaging surfaces of the dies corresponds to that of the body of the clip which they form.

The side of the convex die adjacent the tongue end of the plate is in the form of a lateral projection or horn 39 between the outer end of which and the concave die the projecting portion of the plate is bent rearwardly into a position nearly parallel to the direction of movement of the horn, as shown in Fig. 6. It is this projecting portion of the plate that ultimately forms the downwardly and inwardly bent tongue-carrying portion of the rail clip. This is accomplished by bending the projecting portion of the plate backwardly around the horn, and at the same time bending the tongue 2 substantially perpendicularly away from the adjoining portion of the plate. The bending preferably is done by means of a bending member or ram 4! which is reciprocable at right angles to the path of movement of the convex die. The outer end of the tongue is pinched between the end of the ram and the side of the adjoining die. As shown in Fig. 7, the outer end of the ram has a central boss 42 on its front surface which engages the tongue and bends it back toward the body of the clip farther than the ears 3 that straddle the boss. Because of this, the ears, and not the tongue, press against the top of the tie plate when the clip is in rail-retaining position. The ram is slidable in a recess 43 in the front of the carriage directly behind block 31. The ram is actuated by a toggle 44 composed of three pivotally connected links one of which is pivotally connected to the inner end of the ram. The opposite end of the toggle is pivotally mounted on a pin 46 extending down into the front end of the carriage. The toggle operates in a rectangular opening 41 extending through the front end of the carriage. When the toggle is straightened, the ram is forced against the projecting portion of the metal plate to bend it around the horn of the convex die in the manner just described.

For straightening the toggle, a pusher or actuating member 58 is supported behind it by means of a cross-head i slidably mounted inside the carriage in the carriage guide plates ll. This cross-head isv reciprocated' lengthwise 'of the carriage by a link 52 pivoted at one end in the cross-head and provided at its opposite end with a ring 53 encircling drive shaft 2! and an eccentric 5d rigidly mounted thereon. The position of the eccentric is such, relative to earns 23, that the pusher does not engage the center link oftoggle. e l; until the two dies close upon the-plate .tl' f being formed. into a clip. The eccentric herein is repeated.

then moves the cross-head and pusher forward in the carriage to straighten the toggle so that ram 4| will be forced against the rearwardly projecting portion of the plate to complete the formation of the clip (Fig. '7). At the same time the hole I is punched in the center of the curved plate by means of a punch 56 carried by the crosshead. The punch moves forward in aligned passages 51 and 58 extending through the two dies and the front ends of the carriage and frame.

After the clip has been formed, the carriage and cross-head are retracted together, thereby carrying the clip with them because it is held on the convex die by means of ram 4| and the punch. When the carriage stops with the clip. the cross-head continues to move rearwardly to pull the punch out of the clip and to pull the pusher away from the toggle. At the same time the front end of a hook-shape rod or actuating member 59, carried by the cross-head and slidably mounted in the front of the frame, enters opening 41 in the carriage and strikes the front of the center link of the toggle and pushes it back. This breaks the toggle and thereby retracts ram 4| from engagement with the clip so that the clip can drop away from the convex die. The bar 33 then is fed forward between the dies, and the forging cycle that has been described It will be seen that every time the carriage and cross-head move forward a clip is formed in a' single operation, thereby making productionfast and relatively inexpensive.

According to the provisions of the patent statutes, I have explained the principle and construction of my invention and, have illustrated and described what I now consider to represent its best embodiment. However, I desire to have it understood that, within thescope of the appended claims, the invention may be practiced otherwise than as specifically illustrated and described.

I claim:

1. A rail clip forming machine, comprising a base, a concave die, a shear blade beside said die, a convex die to cooperate with the concave die, a second shear blade beside the convex die to cooperate with the first blade, one of the dies and the blade beside it being rigidly mounted on said base, a movable support for the other die and blade, means for moving said support on said base toward and away from said rigidly mounted die to provide a metal plate between the dies with 'a longitudinally arched body and a sheared portion projecting laterally from the shear blade side of the dies, the convex die having a lateral projection extending away from its shear blade side, a bending member disposed adjacent said second blade and movable toward and away from the projection side of the convex die in a lateral direction transverse to the direction of movement of said support, a toggle connected to said bending member for reciprocating it laterally to bend said projecting portion of the plate around said die projection, a pai-r'of movable actuating members positioned to engage opposite sides of the toggle alternately for straightening it and breaking it, and reciprocating means cnsaid base, said last-mentioned means carrying said actuating members to move them in the same direction simultaneously.

2. A rail clip forming machine, comprising a V basaa concave die; astationary shear blade be side said .die, and blade. being rim'dly :mounted-on'said base, a convex; die to cooperate with the concave die, a movable shear blade to cooperate with the stationary blade, a carriage for the convex die and movable blade, means for moving said carriage on said base toward and away from the concave die to reciprocate the convex die and movable blade in order to provide a metal plate between the dies with a longitudinally arched body and a sheared portion projecting laterally from the shear blade side of the dies, the convex die having a lateral projection extending away from its shear blade side, a ram carried by said carriage adjacent said movable blade and movable toward and away from the projection side of the convex die in a lateral direction transverse to the direction of movement of said carriage, a toggle also carried by said carriage for reciprocating the ram laterally to bend said projecting portion of the plate around said die projection, a pair of actuating members movable relative to said carriage and positioned to engage opposite sides of the toggle alternately for straightening it and breaking it, and reciprocating means on said base, said last-mentioned means carrying said actuating members to move them in the same direction simultaneously.

EDMUND A. SKOWRON.

Number Name Date 10,571 Gray Feb. 28, 1854 231,209 Brooks Aug. 17, 1880 757,197 Jeffrey Apr. 12, 1904 1,326,852 Dallmeyer Dec. 30, 1919 1,525,908 Beans Feb. 10, 1925 1,706,274 Woodings Mar. 19, 1929 1,790,951 Sampson Feb. 3, 1931 1,969,514 Lehman Aug. 7, 1934 2,051,640 Kruse Aug. 18, 1935 2,116,670 Dawson May 10, 1938 2,206,307 Schneider 1- July 2, 1940 2,228,448 Fader Jan. 14, 1941 2,371,138 Harrison Mar. 13, 1945 2,422,952 Dakin June 24, 1947 

